British cyclist on course for 80-day world record

Published:08:00Tuesday 08 August 2017

Mark Beaumont is on track to complete the first 9,000 miles of his world record breaking attempt to cycle around the globe in eighty days on schedule.

Following his departure from Paris in July, the cyclist has spent 16 hours each day on the bike (cycling 240 miles) and has travelled through more than ten countries to reach the half way stage of his 18,000-mile challenge during which he has consumed over 300,000 calories for energy.

Beaumont cycled from Paris through Germany, Poland, Russia and Mongolia (over 6,500 miles) to complete stage one in Beijing. He is currently over 2,000 miles into his second stage through Australia which will also take him the length of New Zealand to finish stage two in Auckland.

Mark has faced tough challenges throughout, falling from his bike on day nine which almost ended the expedition. Beaumont hit a pot-hole and fell over his handlebars resulting in the loss of a quarter of one tooth as well as obtaining an injury to his left elbow. Commenting on the fall, Mark said: “I thought I had lost my front teeth, and done a lot more damage than I had.

“I didn’t know how serious it was for the first couple of minutes. It was sensitive, and would have got worse so we had to put a temporary filling on it. The fall could have ended the whole expedition, so I got away lucky.”

Despite the incident, Beaumont carried on cycling, battling head winds and hill climbs to complete 230 miles from New Annino to Lavrovka. A Chinese border delay in the final phase of stage one saw Beaumont and his team catch their flight to Perth with seconds to spare, and a speedy start to the second leg with Mark on his bike within 30 minutes of touching down in Australia.

Beaumont continued: “It’s a huge relief and achievement to be at the half way point. The impact of riding 240 miles per day is a test of physical and mental strength. Weather conditions and logistics are also daily challenges, as well as coping with continually changing time zones.

“I’m having to draw on all of my experience as an endurance athlete, but through all of the trials, I am loving every minute of it. It’s been an amazing experience cycling through the first ten countries and being exposed to different cultures. I am especially pleased about completing stage one, as it was unknown territory, and I’m enjoying being back on familiar roads through Australia.”

After completing stage two, Beaumont will fly to Anchorage and cycle to Halifax for stage three, beginning the final leg in Lisbon and is anticipated to be back in Paris by Thursday 21st September.

The Artemis World Cycle has partnered with Twinkl to create lesson plans and educational material for primary schools across the globe. Mark also aims to raise £10 for every mile cycled, a total of £180,000 for Orkidstudio, a humanitarian architectural charity which he has worked with for the last decade. Sponsorship can be by texting ‘ORKD80 £10’ to 70070 or online at justgiving.com/fundraising/markbeaumont-80days